The three living and the three dead princes, from the 'De Lisle Psalter'

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This is an illustration of the moral story The Three Living and the Three Dead in which three figures, often aristocratic and flaunting their vitality, meet three corpses who warn them about the inevitability of death. The numerous variations of this story and their accompanying illustrations provide a stark contrast between the beauty of the living and the worm-eaten corpses of the deceased. Moral messages about the importance of living a virtuous life on Earth are typical amongst Psalters and Book of Hours.

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Psalter and Hours (the 'Howard Psalter') and Psalter (the 'De Lisle Psalter')

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